# Dakar Rally

The Dakar Rally (French: Le Rallye Dakar) or simply "The Dakar" (Le Dakar), formerly known as the Paris–Dakar Rally (Le Rallye Paris-Dakar), is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). The rally is an off-road endurance event. The terrain that the competitors traverse is much tougher than that used in conventional rallying, and the vehicles used are typically true off-road vehicles and motorcycles, rather than modified on-road vehicles. Most of the competitive special sections are off-road, crossing dunes, mud, camel grass, rocks, and erg among others. The distances of each stage covered vary from short distances up to 800–900 kilometres (500–560 mi) per day. The rough terrain, driver fatigue, and lack of skill usually results in accidents and serious injuries.
The event started at the inception in 1978 of a rally staged from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal (hence its name), across several African countries. Between 1992 and 2007 some editions didn't start in Paris or didn't arrive in Dakar, but the event kept its name. Security threats in Mauritania led to the cancellation of the 2008 rally, and events from 2009 to 2019 were held in South America. Since 2020, the rally has been held in Saudi Arabia. The event is open to amateur and professional entries, professionals typically making up about eighty percent of the participants.

## History
### Predecessors

The Mediterranean Rally (also known as Algiers-Cape Town Rally) was a trans-Africa rally run in 5 editions between 1951 and 1961. It evolved from the original mixed road and off-road rally to a fully off-road endurance event, during the pioneer years of trans-Africa rallies.

### Crossing the Sahara

The race originated in December 1977, a year after Thierry Sabine got lost in the Ténéré desert whilst competing in the 1975 "Rallye Côte-Côte" between Abidjan and Nice and decided that the desert would be a good location for a regular rally, on the lines of the 1974 London–Sahara–Munich World Cup Rally, the first automobile race to cross the Sahara Desert twice.
In 1971, ex-Cream drummer Ginger Baker used the unproven Range Rover to drive from Algeria to Lagos, Nigeria to set up a recording studio and jam with Fela Kuti. Predating the Paris-Dakar Rally the subsequent documentary is replete with such terrain, and documents the vehicle's endurance.

### Early growth

182 vehicles took the start of the inaugural rally in Paris, with 74 surviving the 10,000-kilometre (6,200 mi) trip to the Senegalese capital of Dakar. Cyril Neveu was the event's first winner, riding a Yamaha motorcycle. The event rapidly grew in popularity, with 216 vehicles taking the start in 1980 and 291 in 1981. The privateer spirit of early racers tackling the event with limited resources encouraged such entrants as Thierry de Montcorgé in a Rolls-Royce and Formula 1 driver Jacky Ickx with actor Claude Brasseur in a Citroën CX, in the 1981 race won by two-time winner Hubert Auriol.
In 1982, there were 382 racers, more than double the number that took the start in 1979. Neveu won the event for a third time, this time riding a Honda motorcycle, while victory in the car class went to the Marreau brothers, driving a privately entered Renault 20. Auriol captured his second bikes class victory in 1983, the first year that Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi competed in the rally, beginning an association that would last until 2009.
At the behest of 1983 car class winner Jacky Ickx, Porsche entered the Dakar in 1984, with the total number of entries now at 427. The German marque won the event at their first attempt courtesy of René Metge, who had previously won in the car category in 1981, whilst Ickx finished sixth. Gaston Rahier meanwhile continued BMW's success in the motorcycle category with back-to-back wins in 1984 and 1985, the year of Mitsubishi's first victory of 12 in the car category, Patrick Zaniroli taking the spoils. The 1986 event, won by Metge and Neveu, was marred by the death of event founder Sabine in a helicopter crash, his father Gilbert taking over organisation of the rally.

### Peugeot and Citroën domination

The 1987 rally marked the start of an era of increased official factory participation in the car category, as French manufacturer Peugeot arrived and won the event with former World Rally champion Ari Vatanen. The 1987 event was also notable for a ferocious head-to-head duel between Neveu and Auriol in the motorcycle category, the former taking his fifth victory after Auriol was forced to drop out of the rally after breaking both ankles in a fall. The 1988 event reached its zenith in terms of entry numbers, with 603 starters. Vatanen's title defence was derailed when his Peugeot was stolen from the service area at Bamako. Though it was later found, Vatanen was subsequently disqualified from the event, victory instead going to compatriot and teammate Juha Kankkunen.
Peugeot and Vatanen returned to winning ways in 1989 and 1990, the latter marking Peugeot's final year of rally competition before switching to the World Sportscar Championship. Sister brand Citroën took Peugeot's place, Vatanen taking a third consecutive victory in 1991. The 1991 event also saw Stéphane Peterhansel take his first title in the motorcycle category with Yamaha, marking the beginning of an era of domination by the Frenchman.
For the 1992 event, the finish line moved to Cape Town, South Africa in a bid to combat a declining number of competitors, where GPS technology was used for the first time. Auriol became the first person to win in multiple classes after taking Mitsubishi's second victory in the car class, while Peterhansel successfully defended his motorcycle category title. The 1993 rally entry list slumped to 153 competitors, around half of the preceding year's figure and around a quarter of that of 1988. The event was the last to be organised by Gilbert Sabine and the Amaury Sport Organisation took over the following year. With the finish line now back in its traditional location of Dakar, Bruno Saby won a third title for Mitsubishi and Peterhansel took a third straight success in the motorcycle category.
The 1994 event returned to Paris after reaching Dakar, resulting in a particularly grueling event. Pierre Lartigue took Citroën's second win in acrimonious circumstances, as Mitsubishi's leading drivers were forced to withdraw from exhaustion after traversing some particularly demanding sand dunes in the Mauritanian desert that the Citroën crews had opted to skip. Peterhansel's did not compete due to a disagreement between Yamaha and the race organizers over the regulations. Edi Orioli claimed a third title in the bikes category. The 1995 and 1996 events begin in the Spanish city of Granada, with Lartigue racking up wins for Citroën in both years. Peterhansel returned to take a fourth bikes category win in 1995, but lost to Orioli in 1996 because of refuelling problems.

### Mitsubishi in the ascendancy

The 1997 rally ran exclusively in Africa for the first time, with the route running from Dakar to Agadez, Niger and back to Dakar. Citroën's withdrawal due to a rule change paved the way for Mitsubishi to take a fourth victory. Japan's Kenjiro Shinozuka became the first non-European to win the event. Peterhansel equalled Neveu's record of five motorcycle category wins in 1997, before going one better in 1998, when the event returned to its traditional Paris-Dakar route. 1998, Dakar veteran Jean-Pierre Fontenay posted another win for Mitsubishi in the car class.
1999 started in Granada and a maiden success for erstwhile Formula One and sports car driver Jean-Louis Schlesser, who had been constructing his own buggies since 1992. With the help of Renault backing, Schlesser overcame the works Mitsubishi and Nissan crews to win, whilst Peterhansel's decision to switch to the car category allowed Richard Sainct to take BMW's first title in the bikes category since 1985. Schlesser and Sainct both successfully defended their titles in 2000, traversing the route from Dakar to the Egyptian capital of Cairo.
2001 was the final time that the rally used the familiar Paris-Dakar route, and was notable for Mitsubishi's Jutta Kleinschmidt, as she was the first woman to win the rally – albeit only after Schlesser was penalised one hour for unsportsmanlike conduct. Fabrizio Meoni took the first Dakar win for Austrian manufacturer KTM, beginning a winning streak that lasted through 2019. The 2002 began in the French town of Arras and long-time Dakar participant Hiroshi Masuoka won the event for Mitsubishi (Masouka had led for much of the previous year's rally.) The 2003 rally featured an unorthodox route from Marseille to Sharm El Sheikh. Masuoka defend his title after teammate and long-time leader Peterhansel was plagued by mechanical problems in the penultimate stage. Sainct meanwhile took honours in the motorcycle category, the third title for both him and KTM.

### Mid-2000s

By 2004, the entry list had increased to 595, up from 358 in 2001, with a record 688 competitors starting in 2005. Alongside Mitsubishi and Nissan, Volkswagen now boasted a full factory effort, while Schlesser's Ford-powered buggies and BMWs of the German X-raid team proved thorns in the side of the big budget works teams. The 2004 route was from Clermont-Ferrand to Dakar, and was the year Peterhansel emulated Hubert Auriol's feat of winning the rally on both two wheels and four. The Frenchman defended his title in 2005, when the rally began for the first time in Barcelona. In the bikes category, KTM continued their success with Nani Roma in 2004, who switched to the car category the following year, and Cyril Despres in 2005.
The 2006 event moved to Lisbon. Nissan pulled out having failed to provide effective opposition to Mitsubishi, who took a sixth consecutive victory, this time with former skiing champion Luc Alphand after Peterhansel committed a series of errors late in the rally. Peterhansel made amends in 2007, however, taking his third title in the car category for Mitsubishi after a close contest with Alphand after the increasingly competitive Volkswagens retired with mechanical problems. In what would be the final African event of the Dakar, Despres took his second title in the bikes category, having conceded victory in 2006 to Marc Coma after suffering an injury.

### 2008 Dakar Rally cancelled

The 2008 event, due to start in Lisbon, was cancelled on 4 January 2008 amid fears of attacks in Mauritania following the 2007 killing of four French tourists. Chile and Argentina offered to host subsequent events, which were later accepted by the ASO for the 2009 event.
Later in the year the ASO created a new event, the 2008 Central Europe Rally, to fill the void created by the cancellation of 2008 edition of the Dakar. All entries for 2008 Dakar were allowed to participate in this event held in Hungary and Romania. It was intended to be part of a series known as the Dakar Series.

### South America

The 2009 event, the first held in South America with a respectable 501 competitors, saw Volkswagen take its first win in the Dakar as a works entrant courtesy of Giniel de Villiers. Initially, teammate and former WRC champion Carlos Sainz led the race comfortably until crashing out, but went on to win the event in 2010. After a poor showing in 2009, Mitsubishi withdrew from the competition and left Volkswagen as the sole works entrant. The German marque won the race for a third time in 2011, this time with Nasser Al-Attiyah, before they withdrew to focus on their upcoming WRC entry and leaving the Dakar with no factory participants in the car class. In the bikes, Despres and Coma stretched KTM's incredible unbroken run of success. Both tied on three victories apiece after Coma's third win in 2011.
In the 2012 rally, the X-raid team came to the fore, now using Minis in lieu of BMWs. Peterhansel had joined the team in 2010 after Mitsubishi's departure, but had been unable to challenge the Volkswagen drivers. Following Volkswagen's withdrawal, Peterhansel was able to secure his fourth win in the car category and his tenth in total, his main opposition coming from within his own team. Peterhansel successfully defended his title in 2013 as the Damen Jefferies buggies of Sainz and Al-Attiyah failed to last the distance. Despres also racked up a further two wins for KTM in the bikes class in 2012 and 2013, bringing his tally to five, aided by Coma's absence due to injury in the latter year. Coma struck back on his return to the Dakar in 2014, taking a comfortable fourth title and a 13th in succession for KTM, whilst Nani Roma emulated Auriol and Peterhansel by taking his maiden title in the cars class a decade on from his victory on two wheels – albeit only after team orders by X-raid slowed Peterhansel.
Peugeot returned for the 2015 event with an all-new, diesel-powered, two-wheel drive contender, but failed to make an impact as X-raid's Minis once more dominated. Al-Attiyah won the event in his second year for the team, while Coma racked up a fifth title in the bikes after the defection of long-time rival Despres to the car class and Peugeot. Peugeot did however see success in 2016 with Peterhansel behind the wheel, racking up his 6th win in the car category, and again in 2017 and 2018 until Peugeot decide to officially leave the competition. In 2019, which was the first Dakar Rally to be held in just one country (Peru), Toyota won for the first time with Nasser Al-Attiyah (in his third victory with three different manufacturers). The bike category saw the KTM works team rider, Australian Toby Price, take his first Dakar victory, winning his second title in 2019. Sam Sunderland and Matthias Walkner won the 2017 and 2018 edition also for the team from Mattighofen (18 overall victories as in 2019).

### Saudi Arabia

Following the ASO's increasingly deteriorating relationships with South American governments, which culminated in the controversial 2019 disqualification of Bolivian quad rider Juan Carlos Salvatierra, the rally has been held in Saudi Arabia since 2020.
Further editions were planned to also feature other Middle Eastern countries starting from 2021, as the contract with the country was only exclusive for the first year. However, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic prevented such an expansion from happening.

## Vehicles and classes

The five competitive groups in the Dakar are the motorcycles, quads, the cars class (which ranges from buggies to small SUVs), UTVs, and the trucks class. Many vehicle manufacturers use the rally's harsh environment as both a testing ground and an opportunity to show off their vehicles' durability even though most vehicles are heavily modified from their production specification or purpose-built.

### Motorbikes

For the 2005 rally regulations introduced a limit of 450cc for twin cylinder motorbikes. Single cylinder motorbikes were still open class with no capacity limit.
As of 2011, the engine displacement limit for all motorbikes competing in the Dakar Rally is 450cc. Engines may be either single or twin cylinder. Riders are divided into two groups, RallyGP and Rally2.
A subcategory is the "Original by Motul" category (formerly named "Malle Moto" due to the only piece of luggage competitors were allowed to take with them was a "malle", the French term for a steamer trunk), which refers to motorbikes and quads competing without any kind assistance. The organization provides assistance for this category with 4 people dedicated to the transportation of the competitors' gear between bivouac sites plus any additional equipment or belongings. This includes: 1 trunk, 1 set of wheels, 1 sleeping tent, 1 travel bag, 1 set of tyres, free use of the generators, compressors and tool-boxes, and easy access to race information. Since these competitors are not allowed to receive any outside support, each rider must service their own vehicle. It is often called the category for the toughest of the tough, and one for the Dakar purists.
KTM has dominated the motorcycle class in recent years, although Honda, Yamaha, Sherco, Husqvarna, and Gas Gas also compete currently. BMW and Cagiva have also enjoyed success in the past.

### Quads

Prior to 2009, Quads were a subdivision of the motorbike category, but they were granted their own separate classification in 2009 and are designated Group 3 in the current regulations. They are divided into two subgroups – Group 3.1, which features two-wheel drive quads with a single cylinder engine with a maximum displacement of 750cc, and Group 3.2, which permits four-wheel drive quads with a maximum engine displacement of 900cc, in either single or twin cylinder layout.
Yamaha went unbeaten in the Quad category as an official class, with their main opposition coming courtesy of Honda and Can-Am.
Quads were dropped from the Dakar in 2025 due to declining manufacturer support.

### Cars

The car class is made up of vehicles weighing less than 3,500 kg (7,716 lb), which are subdivided into several categories. T1 is made up of "Improved Cross-Country Vehicles", subdivided according to engine type (petrol or diesel) and drive type (two-wheel or four-wheel drive), while T2 is made up of "Cross-Country Series Production Vehicles", which are subdivided into petrol and diesel categories. There is also an "Open" category catering for vehicles conforming to SCORE International regulations.
Mini have been the most successful marque in the car category in recent years, thanks to the efforts of the non-factory X-raid team, with limited involvement currently coming from Toyota, Ford and Haval. Several constructors also produce bespoke buggies for the event, most notably SMG and Damen Jefferies.
Mitsubishi is historically the most successful manufacturer in the car class, with Volkswagen, Citroën, Peugeot and Porsche having all tasted success in the past with factory teams. Jean-Louis Schlesser has also won the event twice with his Renault-supported buggies. Factory teams from Nissan and SEAT have also won stages, as has BMW, courtesy of the X-raid team.

### Trucks

The Truck class, first run as a separate category in 1980, is made up of vehicles weighing more than 3,500 kg (7,716 lb). Trucks participating in the competition are subdivided into "Series Production" trucks (T4.1) and "Modified" trucks (T4.2), whilst Group T4.3 (formerly known as T5) trucks are rally support trucks – meaning they travel from bivouac to bivouac to support the competition vehicles. These were introduced to the rally in 1998. The truck event was not run in 1989 after it was decided the vehicles, by this stage with twin engines generating in excess of 1000 horsepower, were too dangerous following the death of a DAF crew member in an accident during the 1988 rally.
Kamaz has dominated the truck category since the turn of the century, although it has come under increasing pressure from rivals such as Iveco, MAN, Renault, and Tatra, which enjoyed much success in the 1990s. Hino, DAF, Perlini, and Mercedes-Benz have also been among the winners in the past.

### UTVs

The utility task vehicle (UTV) category was introduced in 2017. Before this, UTVs ran under the car category as the T3 class. The class rapidly gained in popularity, and in 2021 the class was further subdivided into separate T3 light prototypes category, and T4 SSVs, which are based on production vehicles.

### Classics

A new Dakar Classic class was introduced in 2021 for cars and trucks manufactured before 2000, or new vehicles built to original pre-2000 specification. For the fifth edition in 2025, rules allowed another five years where 2005 became the latest specification year for the class, effectively making the rule 20 years for classification as classics.
These vehicles share the same bivouac and the organization but run in a parallel, yet different route, suitable for historic vehicles. The scoreboard is not based on fastest time, but rather on regularity rally point scoring system. The class feature a reduced entry fee, yet the same rules and fees apply for the assistance.

## List of winners
### Cars, bikes and trucks

| Year | Route | Cars | Cars | Bikes | Bikes | Trucks | Trucks |
| Year | Route | Driver Co-driver | Make & model | Rider | Make & model | Driver Co-driver Technician | Make & model |
| 2025 | Bisha-Shubaytah | Yazeed Al-Rajhi Timo Gottschalk | Toyota Hilux Overdrive | Daniel Sanders | KTM 450 Rally Factory | Martin Macík František Tomášek David Švanda | Iveco Powerstar |
| 2024 | al-Ula–Yanbu | Carlos Sainz Lucas Cruz | Audi RS Q e-tron | Ricky Brabec | Honda CRF 450 Rally | Martin Macík František Tomášek David Švanda | Iveco PowerStar |
| 2023 | near Yanbu–Dammam | Nasser Al-Attiyah Mathieu Baumel | Toyota GR DKR Hilux | Kevin Benavides | KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica | Janus van Kasteren Darek Rodewald Marcel Snijders | Iveco PowerStar |
| 2022 | Ḥaʼil–Jeddah | Nasser Al-Attiyah Mathieu Baumel | Toyota GR DKR Hilux | Sam Sunderland | Gas Gas 450 Rally | Dmitry Sotnikov Ruslan Amkhmadeev Ilgiz Akhmetzianov | Kamaz K5 435091 |
| 2021 | Jeddah–Ḥaʼil | Stéphane Peterhansel Édouard Boulanger | Mini John Cooper Works Buggy | Kevin Benavides | Honda CRF 450 Rally | Dmitry Sotnikov Ruslan Amkhmadeev Ilgiz Akhmetzianov | Kamaz 43509 |
| 2020 | Jeddah–Riyadh–Qiddiya | Carlos Sainz Lucas Cruz | Mini John Cooper Works Buggy | Ricky Brabec | Honda CRF 450 Rally | Andrey Karginov Andrey Mokeev Igor Leonov | Kamaz 43509 |
| 2019 | Lima–Lima | Nasser Al-Attiyah Mathieu Baumel | Toyota Hilux Dakar | Toby Price | KTM 450 Rally | Eduard Nikolaev Evgeny Yakovlev Vladimir Rybakov | Kamaz 43509 |
| 2018 | Lima–La Paz–Córdoba | Carlos Sainz Lucas Cruz | Peugeot 3008 DKR Maxi | Matthias Walkner | KTM 450 Rally | Eduard Nikolaev Evgeny Yakovlev Vladimir Rybakov | Kamaz 4326-9 [ru] |
| 2017 | Asunción–La Paz–Buenos Aires | Stéphane Peterhansel Jean-Paul Cottret | Peugeot 3008 DKR | Sam Sunderland | KTM 450 Rally | Eduard Nikolaev Evgeny Yakovlev Vladimir Rybakov | Kamaz 4326-9 [ru] |
| 2016 | Buenos Aires–Salta-Rosario | Stéphane Peterhansel Jean-Paul Cottret | Peugeot 2008 DKR | Toby Price | KTM 450 Rally | Gerard de Rooy Moi Torrallardona Darek Rodewald | Iveco PowerStar |
| 2015 | Buenos Aires–Iquique-Buenos Aires | Nasser Al-Attiyah Mathieu Baumel | Mini All 4 Racing | Marc Coma | KTM 450 Rally | Ayrat Mardeev Aydar Belyaev Dmitriy Svistunov | Kamaz 4326-9 [ru] |
| 2014 | Rosario-Salta–Valparaíso | Nani Roma Michel Périn | Mini All 4 Racing | Marc Coma | KTM 450 Rally | Andrey Karginov Andrey Mokeev Igor Devyatkin | Kamaz 4326-9 [ru] |
| 2013 | Lima–Tucumán–Santiago | Stéphane Peterhansel Jean-Paul Cottret | Mini All 4 Racing | Cyril Despres | KTM 450 Rally | Eduard Nikolaev Sergey Savostin Vladimir Rybakov | Kamaz 4326-9 [ru] |
| 2012 | Mar del Plata–Arica–Lima | Stéphane Peterhansel Jean-Paul Cottret | Mini All 4 Racing | Cyril Despres | KTM 450 Rally | Gerard de Rooy Tom Colsoul [fr] Darek Rodewald | Iveco PowerStar |
| 2011 | Buenos Aires–Arica–Buenos Aires | Nasser Al-Attiyah Timo Gottschalk | Volkswagen Race Touareg 3 | Marc Coma | KTM 450 Rally | Vladimir Chagin Sergey Savostin Ildar Shaysultanov | Kamaz 4326-9 [ru] |
| 2010 | Buenos Aires–Antofagasta–Buenos Aires | Carlos Sainz Lucas Cruz | Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 | Cyril Despres | KTM 690 Rally | Vladimir Chagin Sergey Savostin Eduard Nikolaev | Kamaz 4326-9 [ru] |
| 2009 | Buenos Aires–Valparaiso–Buenos Aires | Giniel de Villiers Dirk von Zitzewitz | Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 | Marc Coma | KTM 690 Rally | Firdaus Kabirov Aydar Belyaev Andrey Mokeev | Kamaz 4326-9 [ru] |
| 2008 | Lisbon–Dakar | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| 2007 | Lisbon–Dakar | Stéphane Peterhansel Jean-Paul Cottret | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Cyril Despres | KTM 690 Rally | Hans Stacey Charly Gotlib Bernard der Kinderen | MAN TGA |
| 2006 | Lisbon–Dakar | Luc Alphand Gilles Picard [fr] | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Marc Coma | KTM LC4 660R | Vladimir Chagin Semen Yakubov Sergey Savostin | Kamaz 4911 [ru] |
| 2005 | Barcelona–Dakar | Stéphane Peterhansel Jean-Paul Cottret | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Cyril Despres | KTM LC4 660R | Firdaus Kabirov Aydar Belyaev Andrey Mokeev | Kamaz 4911 [ru] |
| 2004 | Clermont-Ferrand–Dakar | Stéphane Peterhansel Jean-Paul Cottret | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Nani Roma | KTM LC4 660R | Vladimir Chagin Semen Yakubov Sergey Savostin | Kamaz 4911 [ru] |
| 2003 | Marseille–Sharm el Sheikh | Hiroshi Masuoka Andreas Schulz | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Richard Sainct | KTM LC4 660R | Vladimir Chagin Semen Yakubov Sergey Savostin | Kamaz 4911 [ru] |
| 2002 | Arras–Madrid–Dakar | Hiroshi Masuoka Pascal Maimon | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Fabrizio Meoni | KTM LC8 950R | Vladimir Chagin Semen Yakubov Sergey Savostin | Kamaz 49256 [ru] |
| 2001 | Paris–Dakar | Jutta Kleinschmidt Andreas Schulz | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Fabrizio Meoni | KTM LC4 660R | Karel Loprais Josef Kalina Petr Hamerla | Tatra 815 |
| 2000 | Dakar–Cairo | Jean-Louis Schlesser Henri Magne [fr] | Buggy Schlesser - Renault | Richard Sainct | BMW F650RR | Vladimir Chagin Semen Yakubov Sergey Savostin | Kamaz 49252 [ru] |
| 1999 | Granada–Dakar | Jean-Louis Schlesser Philippe Monnet | Buggy Schlesser - Renault | Richard Sainct | BMW F650RR | Karel Loprais Radomir Stachura Josef Kalina | Tatra 815 |
| 1998 | Paris–Granada–Dakar | Jean-Pierre Fontenay [fr] Gilles Picard [fr] | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Stéphane Peterhansel | Yamaha XTR850R | Karel Loprais Radomir Stachura Jan Cermak | Tatra 815 |
| 1997 | Dakar–Agades–Dakar | Kenjiro Shinozuka Henri Magne [fr] | Mitsubishi Pajero Type 2 | Stéphane Peterhansel | Yamaha XTR850R | Peter Reif [fr] Johann Deinhofer | Hino Ranger |
| 1996 | Granada–Dakar | Pierre Lartigue Michel Périn | Citroën ZX | Edi Orioli | Yamaha XTR850R | Viktor Moskovskikh [fr] Anatoli Kouzmine Nail Bagavetdinov | Kamaz 49252 [ru] |
| 1995 | Granada–Dakar | Pierre Lartigue Michel Périn | Citroën ZX | Stéphane Peterhansel | Yamaha XTR850R | Karel Loprais Radomir Stachura Tomas Tomecek | Tatra 815 |
| 1994 | Paris–Dakar–Paris | Pierre Lartigue Michel Périn | Citroën ZX | Edi Orioli | Cagiva Elefant [it] | Karel Loprais Radomir Stachura Josef Kalina | Tatra 815 |
| 1993 | Paris–Dakar | Bruno Saby Dominique Serieys | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Stéphane Peterhansel | Yamaha YZE 850T | Francesco Perlini [fr] Giorgio Albiero Claudio Vinante | Perlini 105F |
| 1992 | Paris–Sirte–Cape Town | Hubert Auriol Philippe Monnet | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Stéphane Peterhansel | Yamaha YZE 850T | Francesco Perlini [fr] Giorgio Albiero Claudio Vinante | Perlini 105F |
| 1991 | Paris–Tripoli–Dakar | Ari Vatanen Bruno Berglund [fr] | Citroën ZX | Stéphane Peterhansel | Yamaha YZE 750T | Jacques Houssat [fr] Thierry de Saulieu Danilo Bottaro | Perlini 105F |
| 1990 | Paris–Tripoli–Dakar | Ari Vatanen Bruno Berglund [fr] | Peugeot 405 T16 | Edi Orioli | Cagiva Elefant 900 [it] | Giorgio Villa [fr] Giorgio Delfino Claudio Vinante | Perlini 105F |
| 1989 | Paris–Tunis–Dakar | Ari Vatanen Bruno Berglund [fr] | Peugeot 405 T16 | Gilles Lalay | Honda NXR800V | Not held | Not held |
| 1988 | Paris–Alger–Dakar | Juha Kankkunen Juha Piironen [fr] | Peugeot 205 T16 | Edi Orioli | Honda NXR800V | Karel Loprais Radomir Stachura Tomas Muck | Tatra 815 |
| 1987 | Paris-Alger–Dakar | Ari Vatanen Bernard Giroux [fr] | Peugeot 205 T16 | Cyril Neveu | Honda NXR750V | Jan de Rooy (rally driver) [Jan de Rooy] Yvo Geusens Theo van de Rijt | DAF TurboTwin II |
| 1986 | Paris-Alger–Dakar | René Metge Dominique Lemoyne | Porsche 959 | Cyril Neveu | Honda NXR750V | Giacomo Vismara [it] Giulio Minelli | Mercedes-Benz U 1300 L |
| 1985 | Paris-Alger–Dakar | Patrick Zaniroli [fr] Jean da Silva [fr] | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Gaston Rahier | BMW R80G/S | Karl-Friedrich Capito [fr] Jost Capito Klaus Schweikarl | Mercedes-Benz 1936 AK |
| 1984 | Paris-Alger–Dakar | René Metge Dominique Lemoyne [fr] | Porsche 911 (953) | Gaston Rahier | BMW R80G/S | Pierre Laleu [fr] Daniel Durce Patrick Venturini | Mercedes-Benz 1936 AK |
| 1983 | Paris-Alger–Dakar | Jacky Ickx Claude Brasseur | Mercedes 280 GE | Hubert Auriol | BMW R80G/S | Georges Groine [fr] Thierry de Saulieu Bernard Malferiol | Mercedes-Benz 1936 AK |
| 1982 | Paris-Alger–Dakar | Claude Marreau [fr] Bernard Marreau [fr] | Renault 20 Turbo 4X4 | Cyril Neveu | Honda XR550 | Georges Groine [fr] Thierry de Saulieu Bernard Malferiol | Mercedes-Benz U 1700 L |
| 1981 | Paris–Dakar | René Metge Bernard Giroux [fr] | Range Rover | Hubert Auriol | BMW R80G/S | Adrien Villette [fr] Henri Gabrelle Alain Voillereau | ALM/ACMAT |
| 1980 | Paris–Dakar | Freddy Kottulinsky Gerd Löffelmann | Volkswagen Iltis | Cyril Neveu | Yamaha XT500 | Miloud Ataouat [fr] Hadj Daou Boukrif Mahiedine Kaloua | Sonacome M210 |
| 1979 | Paris–Dakar | Alain Génestier Joseph Terbiaut Jean Lemordant | Range Rover | Cyril Neveu | Yamaha XT500 | Jean-François Dunac Jean-Pierre Chapel François Beau | Pinzgauer |

### Quads, SSVs and Light Prototypes

| Year | Route | Quads | Quads | SSVs (UTVs until 2022) | SSVs (UTVs until 2022) | Light Prototypes (T3) | Light Prototypes (T3) |
| Year | Route | Rider | Make & model | Driver Co-driver | Make & model | DriverCo-driver | Make & model |
| 2025 | Bisha–Shubaytah | Not held | N/A | Brock Heger M. Eddy | Polaris RZR Pro R | Nicolas Cavigliasso Valentina Pertegarini | Taurus T3 Max |
| 2024 | Al-'Ula–Yanbu | Manuel Andújar | Yamaha Raptor 700 | Xavier de Soultrait Martin Bonnet | Polaris RZR Pro R | Cristina Gutiérrez Pablo Moreno Huete | Taurus T3 Max |
| 2023 | near Yanbu–Dammam | Alexandre Giroud | Yamaha Raptor 700 | Eryk Goczał Oriol Mena | Can-Am Maverick X3 | Austin Jones Gustavo Gugelmin | Can-Am Maverick XRS |
| 2022 | Ḥaʼil–Jeddah | Alexandre Giroud | Yamaha Raptor 700 | Austin Jones Gustavo Gugelmin | Can-Am Maverick X3 | Francisco López Contardo Juan Pablo Latrach Vinagre | Can-Am XRS |
| 2021 | Jeddah–Ḥaʼil | Manuel Andújar | Yamaha Raptor 700 | Francisco López Contardo Juan Pablo Latrach Vinagre | Can-Am Maverick X3 | Josef Macháček Pavel Vyoral | Can-Am |
| 2020 | Jeddah–Riyadh–Qiddiya | Ignacio Casale | Yamaha Raptor 700 | Casey Currie Sean Berriman | Can-Am Maverick X3 | Not held | Not held |
| 2019 | Lima–Lima | Nicolás Cavigliasso | Yamaha Raptor 700 | Francisco López Contardo Alvaro Quintanilla | Can-Am Maverick X3 | Not held | Not held |
| 2018 | Lima–La Paz–Córdoba | Ignacio Casale | Yamaha Raptor 700 | Reinaldo Varela Gustavo Gugelmin | Can-Am Maverick X3 | Not held | Not held |
| 2017 | Asunción–La Paz–Buenos Aires | Sergey Karyakin | Yamaha Raptor 700 | Leandro Torres Lourival Roldan | Polaris RZR 1000 XP | Not held | Not held |
| 2016 | Buenos Aires–Salta-Rosario | Marcos Patronelli | Yamaha Raptor 700 | Not held | Not held | | Not held | Not held |
| 2015 | Buenos Aires–Iquique-Buenos Aires | Rafał Sonik | Yamaha Raptor 700 | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held |
| 2014 | Rosario-Salta–Valparaíso | Ignacio Casale | Yamaha Raptor 700 | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held |
| 2013 | Lima–Tucumán–Santiago | Marcos Patronelli | Yamaha Raptor 700 | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held |
| 2012 | Mar del Plata–Arica–Lima | Alejandro Patronelli | Yamaha Raptor 700 | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held |
| 2011 | Buenos Aires–Arica–Buenos Aires | Alejandro Patronelli | Yamaha Raptor 700 | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held |
| 2010 | Buenos Aires–Antofagasta–Buenos Aires | Marcos Patronelli | Yamaha Raptor 700 | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held |
| 2009 | Buenos Aires–Valparaiso–Buenos Aires | Josef Macháček | Yamaha Raptor 700 | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held |
Source:

### Dakar Classics

| Year | Route | Classics | Classics |
| Year | Route | Driver Co-driver | Make & model |
| 2025 | Bisha–Shubaytah | Carlos Santaolalla Jan Rosa i Viñas | Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80 |
| 2024 | Al-'Ula–Yanbu | Carlos Santaolalla Jan Rosa i Viñas | Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80 |
| 2023 | near Yanbu–Dammam | Juan Morera Lidia Ruba | Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80 |
| 2022 | Ḥaʼil–Jeddah | Serge Mogno Florent Drulhon | Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80 |
| 2021 | Jeddah–Ḥaʼil | Marc Douton Emilien Etienne | Sunhill Buggy |
Source:

## Podium
### Cars

| Year | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd |
| Year | Driver | Car | Driver | Car | Driver | Car |
| 1979 | Alain Génestier | Range Rover V8 | Claude Marreau | Renault 4 Sinpar | Cesare Giraudo | Fiat Campagnola |
| 1980 | Freddy Kottulinsky | Volkswagen Iltis | Patrick Zaniroli | Volkswagen Iltis | Claude Marreau | Renault 4 Sinpar |
| 1981 | René Metge | Range Rover V8 | Hervé Cotel | Buggy Cotel | Jean-Claude Briavoine | Lada Niva |
| 1982 | Claude Marreau | Renault 20 Turbo | Jean-Claude Briavoine | Lada Niva | Jean-Pierre Jaussaud | Mercedes 280 GE |
| 1983 | Jacky Ickx | Mercedes 280 GE | André Trossat | Lada Niva | Pierre Lartigue | Range Rover V8 |
| 1984 | René Metge | Porsche 911 | Patrick Zaniroli | Range Rover V8 | Andrew Cowan | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution |
| 1985 | Patrick Zaniroli | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Andrew Cowan | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Pierre Fougerouse | Toyota FJ 60 |
| 1986 | René Metge | Porsche 959 | Jacky Ickx | Porsche 959 | Pascal Rigal | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution |
| 1987 | Ari Vatanen | Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 | Patrick Zaniroli | Range Rover V8 | Kenjiro Shinozuka | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution |
| 1988 | Juha Kankkunen | Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 | Kenjiro Shinozuka | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Patrick Tambay | Range Rover V8 |
| 1989 | Ari Vatanen | Peugeot 405 Turbo 16 | Jacky Ickx | Peugeot 405 Turbo 16 | Patrick Tambay | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution |
| 1990 | Ari Vatanen | Peugeot 405 Turbo 16 | Björn Waldegård | Peugeot 405 Turbo 16 | Alain Ambrosino | Peugeot 405 Turbo 16 |
| 1991 | Ari Vatanen | Citroën ZX Rallye-Raid | Pierre Lartigue | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Jean Pierre Fontenay | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution |
| 1992 | Hubert Auriol | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Erwin Weber | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Kenjiro Shinozuka | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution |
| 1993 | Bruno Saby | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Pierre Lartigue | Citroën ZX Rallye-Raid | Hubert Auriol | Citroën ZX Rallye-Raid |
| 1994 | Pierre Lartigue | Citroën ZX Rallye-Raid | Hubert Auriol | Citroën ZX Rallye-Raid | Philippe Wambergue | Buggy Bourgo |
| 1995 | Pierre Lartigue | Citroën ZX Rallye-Raid | Bruno Saby | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Kenjiro Shinozuka | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution |
| 1996 | Pierre Lartigue | Citroën ZX Rallye-Raid | Philippe Wambergue | Citroën ZX Rallye-Raid | Jean Pierre Fontenay | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution |
| 1997 | Kenjiro Shinozuka | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Jean-Pierre Fontenay | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Bruno Saby | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution |
| 1998 | Jean-Pierre Fontenay | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Kenjiro Shinozuka | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Bruno Saby | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution |
| 1999 | Jean-Louis Schlesser | Buggy Schlesser | Miguel Prieto | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Jutta Kleinschmidt | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution |
| 2000 | Jean-Louis Schlesser | Buggy Schlesser | Stéphane Peterhansel | Mega Desert | Jean-Pierre Fontenay | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution |
| 2001 | Jutta Kleinschmidt | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Hiroshi Masuoka | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Jean-Louis Schlesser | Buggy Schlesser |
| 2002 | Hiroshi Masuoka | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Jutta Kleinschmidt | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Kenjiro Shinozuka | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution |
| 2003 | Hiroshi Masuoka | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Jean-Pierre Fontenay | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Stéphane Peterhansel | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution |
| 2004 | Stéphane Peterhansel | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Hiroshi Masuoka | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Jean-Louis Schlesser | Buggy Schlesser |
| 2005 | Stéphane Peterhansel | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Luc Alphand | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Jutta Kleinschmidt | Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 |
| 2006 | Luc Alphand | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Giniel de Villiers | Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 | Nani Roma | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution |
| 2007 | Stéphane Peterhansel | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Luc Alphand | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Jean-Louis Schlesser | Buggy Schlesser |
| 2008 | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| 2009 | Giniel de Villiers | Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 | Mark Miller | Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 | Robby Gordon | Hummer H3 |
| 2010 | Carlos Sainz | Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 | Mark Miller | Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 |
| 2011 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Volkswagen Race Touareg 3 | Giniel de Villiers | Volkswagen Race Touareg 3 | Carlos Sainz | Volkswagen Race Touareg 3 |
| 2012 | Stéphane Peterhansel | Mini All4 Racing | Nani Roma | Mini All4 Racing | Giniel de Villiers | Toyota Hilux Dakar |
| 2013 | Stéphane Peterhansel | Mini All4 Racing | Giniel de Villiers | Toyota Hilux Dakar | Leonid Novitskiy | Mini All4 Racing |
| 2014 | Nani Roma | Mini All4 Racing | Stéphane Peterhansel | Mini All4 Racing | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Mini All4 Racing |
| 2015 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Mini All4 Racing | Giniel de Villiers | Toyota Hilux Dakar | Krzysztof Hołowczyc | Mini All4 Racing |
| 2016 | Stéphane Peterhansel | Peugeot 2008 DKR | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Mini All4 Racing | Giniel de Villiers | Toyota Hilux Dakar |
| 2017 | Stéphane Peterhansel | Peugeot 3008 DKR | Sébastien Loeb | Peugeot 3008 DKR | Cyril Despres | Peugeot 3008 DKR |
| 2018 | Carlos Sainz | Peugeot 3008 DKR | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Toyota Hilux Dakar | Giniel de Villiers | Toyota Hilux Dakar |
| 2019 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Toyota Hilux Dakar | Nani Roma | Mini All4 Racing | Sébastien Loeb | Peugeot 3008 DKR |
| 2020 | Carlos Sainz | Mini John Cooper Works Buggy | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Toyota Hilux Dakar | Stéphane Peterhansel | Mini John Cooper Works Buggy |
| 2021 | Stéphane Peterhansel | Mini John Cooper Works Buggy | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Toyota Hilux Dakar | Carlos Sainz | Mini John Cooper Works Buggy |
| 2022 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Toyota GR DKR Hilux | Sébastien Loeb | BRX Hunter T1+ | Yazeed Al-Rajhi | Toyota Hilux Overdrive |
| 2023 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Toyota GR DKR Hilux | Sébastien Loeb | Prodrive Hunter T1+ | Lucas Moraes | Toyota Hilux Overdrive |
| 2024 | Carlos Sainz | Audi RS Q e-tron | Guillaume De Mévius | Toyota Hilux Overdrive | Sébastien Loeb | Prodrive Hunter T1+ |
| 2025 | Yazeed Al-Rajhi | Toyota Hilux Overdrive | Henk Lategan | Toyota GR DKR Hilux | Mattias Ekström | Ford Raptor T1+ |

### Bikes

| Year | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd |
| Year | Driver | Bike | Driver | Bike | Driver | Bike |
| 1979 | Cyril Neveu | Yamaha XT 500 | Gilles Comte | Yamaha XT 500 | Philippe Vassard | Honda XL 250 |
| 1980 | Cyril Neveu | Yamaha XT 500 | Michel Merel | Yamaha XT 500 | Jean-Noël Pineau | Yamaha XT 500 |
| 1981 | Hubert Auriol | BMW R80 G/S | Serge Bacou | Yamaha XT 500 | Michel Merel | Yamaha XT 500 |
| 1982 | Cyril Neveu | Honda XR 550 | Philippe Vassard | Honda XR 550 | Grégoire Verhaeghe | Barigo 500 |
| 1983 | Hubert Auriol | BMW R80 G/S | Patrick Drobecq | Honda XR 600 | Marc Joineau | Suzuki DR 500 |
| 1984 | Gaston Rahier | BMW R80 G/S | Hubert Auriol | BMW R80 G/S | Philippe Vassard | Honda XLR 600 |
| 1985 | Gaston Rahier | BMW R80 G/S | Jean-Claude Olivier | Yamaha 660 Proto | Franco Picco | Yamaha 600 XT |
| 1986 | Cyril Neveu | Honda NXR 780 | Gilles Lalay | Honda NXR 780 | Andrea Balestrieri | Honda XL 600 |
| 1987 | Cyril Neveu | Honda NXR 750 | Edi Orioli | Honda XL 600 | Gaston Rahier | BMW R80 GS |
| 1988 | Edi Orioli | Honda NXR 800V | Franco Picco | Yamaha YZE 750 | Gilles Lalay | Honda NXR 750 |
| 1989 | Gilles Lalay | Honda NXR 800V | Franco Picco | Yamaha YZE 750 | Marc Morales | Honda NXR 750 |
| 1990 | Edi Orioli | Cagiva Elefant 900 | Carles Mas | Yamaha YZE 750 | Alessandro De Petri | Cagiva Elefant 900 |
| 1991 | Stéphane Peterhansel | Yamaha YZE 750T | Gilles Lalay | Yamaha YZE 750T | Thierry Magnaldi | Yamaha YZE 750T |
| 1992 | Stéphane Peterhansel | Yamaha YZE 850T | Danny LaPorte | Cagiva Elefant 900 | Jordi Arcarons | Cagiva Elefant 900 |
| 1993 | Stéphane Peterhansel | Yamaha YZE 850T | Thierry Charbonnier | Yamaha YZE 850T | Jordi Arcarons | Yamaha YZE 850T |
| 1994 | Edi Orioli | Cagiva Elefant 900 | Jordi Arcarons | Cagiva Elefant 900 | Fabrizio Meoni | Honda EXP-2 |
| 1995 | Stéphane Peterhansel | Yamaha YZE 850T | Jordi Arcarons | Cagiva Elefant 900 | Edi Orioli | Cagiva Elefant 900 |
| 1996 | Edi Orioli | Yamaha YZE 850T | Jordi Arcarons | KTM LC4 | Carlos Sotelo | KTM LC4 |
| 1997 | Stéphane Peterhansel | Yamaha YZE 850T | Oscar Gallardo | Cagiva Elefant 900 | David Castera | Yamaha YZE 850T |
| 1998 | Stéphane Peterhansel | Yamaha YZE 850T | Fabrizio Meoni | KTM LC4 | Andrew Haydon | KTM LC4 |
| 1999 | Richard Sainct | BMW F650 RR | Thierry Magnaldi | KTM LC4 | Alfie Cox | KTM LC4 |
| 2000 | Richard Sainct | BMW F650 RR | Oscar Gallardo | BMW F650 RR | Jimmy Lewis | BMW R900 GS |
| 2001 | Fabrizio Meoni | KTM LC4 660R | Jordi Arcarons | KTM LC4 660R | Carlo de Gavardo | KTM LC4 660R |
| 2002 | Fabrizio Meoni | KTM LC8 950R | Alfie Cox | KTM LC4 660R | Richard Sainct | KTM LC4 660R |
| 2003 | Richard Sainct | KTM LC4 660R | Cyril Despres | KTM LC4 660R | Fabrizio Meoni | KTM LC8 950R |
| 2004 | Nani Roma | KTM LC4 660R | Richard Sainct | KTM LC4 660R | Cyril Despres | KTM LC4 660R |
| 2005 | Cyril Despres | KTM LC4 660R | Marc Coma | KTM LC4 660R | Alfie Cox | KTM LC4 660R |
| 2006 | Marc Coma | KTM LC4 660R | Cyril Despres | KTM LC4 660R | Giovanni Sala | KTM LC4 660R |
| 2007 | Cyril Despres | KTM 690 Rally | David Casteu | KTM 690 Rally | Chris Blais | KTM 660 Rally |
| 2008 | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| 2009 | Marc Coma | KTM 690 Rally | Cyril Despres | KTM 690 Rally | David Frétigné | Yamaha WR 450 |
| 2010 | Cyril Despres | KTM 690 Rally | Pål Anders Ullevålseter | KTM 690 Rally | Francisco López | Aprilia RXV 450 |
| 2011 | Marc Coma | KTM 450 Rally | Cyril Despres | KTM 450 Rally | Hélder Rodrigues | Yamaha WR 450F |
| 2012 | Cyril Despres | KTM 450 Rally | Marc Coma | KTM 450 Rally | Hélder Rodrigues | Yamaha WR 450F |
| 2013 | Cyril Despres | KTM 450 Rally | Ruben Faria | KTM 450 Rally | Francisco López | KTM 450 Rally |
| 2014 | Marc Coma | KTM 450 Rally | Jordi Viladoms | KTM 450 Rally | Olivier Pain | Yamaha WR 450F |
| 2015 | Marc Coma | KTM 450 Rally | Paulo Gonçalves | Honda CRF 450 | Toby Price | KTM 450 Rally |
| 2016 | Toby Price | KTM 450 Rally | Štefan Svitko | KTM 450 Rally | Pablo Quintanilla | Husqvarna FR 450 |
| 2017 | Sam Sunderland | KTM 450 Rally | Matthias Walkner | KTM 450 Rally | Gerard Farrés | KTM 450 Rally |
| 2018 | Matthias Walkner | KTM 450 Rally | Kevin Benavides | Honda CRF 450 | Toby Price | KTM 450 Rally |
| 2019 | Toby Price | KTM 450 Rally | Matthias Walkner | KTM 450 Rally | Sam Sunderland | KTM 450 Rally |
| 2020 | Ricky Brabec | Honda CRF 450 Rally | Pablo Quintanilla | Husqvarna FR 450 | Toby Price | KTM 450 Rally |
| 2021 | Kevin Benavides | Honda CRF 450 Rally | Ricky Brabec | Honda CRF 450 Rally | Sam Sunderland | KTM 450 Rally |
| 2022 | Sam Sunderland | Gas Gas 450 Rally | Pablo Quintanilla | Honda CRF450 Rally | Matthias Walkner | KTM 450 Rally |
| 2023 | Kevin Benavides | KTM 450 Rally | Toby Price | KTM 450 Rally | Skyler Howes | Husqvarna 450 Rally |
| 2024 | Ricky Brabec | Honda CRF 450 Rally | Ross Branch | Hero 450 Rally | Adrien Van Beveren | Honda CRF 450 Rally |
| 2025 | Daniel Sanders | KTM 450 Rally | Tosha Schareina | Honda CRF 450 Rally | Adrien Van Beveren | Honda CRF 450 Rally |

### Trucks

| Year | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd |
| Year | Crew | Truck | Crew | Truck | Crew | Truck |
| 1979 | Jean-François Dunac Jean-Pierre Chapel François Beau | Pinzgauer | Daniel Petit Françis Mare | UNIC | Alain Mekki Jean Neault | UNIC |
| 1980 | Miloud Ataouat Hadj Daou Boukrif Mahiedine Kaloua | Sonacome | Bernard Heu Daniel Delobel Gilbert Versino | MAN | Mokran Bouzid Daid Mekhelef | Sonacome |
| 1981 | Adrien Villette Henri Gabrelle Alain Voillereau | ALM-ACMAT | Jacques Briy Jean Salou Gustave Peu | Ford | Georges Groine Thierry de Saulieu Bernard Malferiol | Mercedes-Benz |
| 1982 | Georges Groine Thierry de Saulieu Bernard Malferiol | Mercedes-Benz | Pierre Laleu Bernard Langlois | Mercedes-Benz | Jan de Rooy (rally driver) Gérard Straetmans | DAF |
| 1983 | Georges Groine Thierry de Saulieu Bernard Malferiol | Mercedes-Benz | Hasse Henriksson Sture Bernhardsson John Granäng | Volvo C303 | Jan de Rooy (rally driver) Joop Roggeband Yvo Geusens | DAF |
| 1984 | Pierre Laleu Daniel Durce Patrick Venturini | Mercedes-Benz | Paolo Bonera Valerio Grassi Paolo Travaglia | Mercedes-Benz | Henri Gabrelle Alain Voillereau Adolf Dirl | MAN |
| 1985 | Karl Friedrich Capito Jost Capito Klaus Schweikarl | Mercedes-Benz | Jan de Rooy (rally driver) Thierry de Saulieu Martinus Ketelaars | DAF | Karl Wilhelm Strohmann Volker Capito Heinz Schnepf | Mercedes-Benz |
| 1986 | Giacomo Vismara Giulio Minelli | Mercedes-Benz | Hans Heyer Winkler | MAN | Salvador Cañellas Ferran | Pegaso |
| 1987 | Jan de Rooy (rally driver) Yvo Geusens Theo van de Rijt | DAF | Karel Loprais Radomír Stachura Jaroslav Krpec | Tatra | Jiří Moskal Jaroslav Joklík Pavel Záleský | LIAZ |
| 1988 | Karel Loprais Radomír Stachura Tomáš Mück | Tatra | Jiří Moskal František Vojtíšek Pavel Záleský | LIAZ | Lutz Bernau Bartman Kluge | Tatra |
| 1989 | Category not held | Category not held | Category not held | Category not held | Category not held | Category not held |
| 1990 | Giorgio Villa Giorgio Delfino Claudio Vinante | Perlini | Jacques Houssat Thierry De Saulieu Danilo Bottaro | Perlini | Zdeněk Kahánek Jaroslav Krpec Havlík | Tatra |
| 1991 | Jacques Houssat Thierry de Saulieu Danilo Bottaro | Perlini | Vladimir Goltsov Firdaus Kabirov Valery Koblukov | Kamaz | Joel Tammeka Juhan Anupõld Enno Piirsalu | Kamaz |
| 1992 | Francesco Perlini Giorgio Albiero Claudio Vinante | Perlini | Jacques Houssat Thierry de Saulieu Danilo Bottaro | Perlini | Karel Loprais Josef Kalina Radomír Stachura | Tatra |
| 1993 | Francesco Perlini Giorgio Albiero Claudio Vinante | Perlini | Jacques Houssat Sarlieve Diamante | Perlini | Gilbert Versino Gimbre Versino | Mercedes-Benz |
| 1994 | Karel Loprais Radomír Stachura Josef Kalina | Tatra | Yoshimasa Sugawara Shibata | Hino | Jacques Marvy Pons Dujon | Perlini |
| 1995 | Karel Loprais Radomír Stachura Josef Kalina | Tatra | Yoshimasa Sugawara Shibata | Hino | Vlastimil Buchtyár Milan Kořený Jaroslav Krpec | Tatra |
| 1996 | Viktor Moskovskikh Anatoly Kuzmin Nail Bagavetdinov | Kamaz | Karel Loprais Tomáš Tomeček Radomír Stachura | Tatra | Ladislav Fajtl Jiří Janoušek František Wurst | Tatra |
| 1997 | Peter Reif Johann Deinhofer Roth | Hino | Yoshimasa Sugawara Naoko Matsumoto Katsumi Hamura | Hino | Joseph Petit Jean-Christophe Wagner Takeshi Hashimoto | Hino |
| 1998 | Karel Loprais Radomír Stachura Jan Čermák | Tatra | Yoshimasa Sugawara Naoko Matsumoto Takashi Ushioda | Hino | Milan Kořený Jaroslav Lamač Martin Kahánek | Tatra |
| 1999 | Karel Loprais Radomír Stachura Josef Kalina | Tatra | Viktor Moskovskikh Vladimir Chagin Semen Yakubov | Kamaz | André de Azevedo Tomáš Tomeček Leilane Neubarth | Tatra |
| 2000 | Vladimir Chagin Semen Yakubov Sergey Savostin | Kamaz | Karel Loprais Radomír Stachura Petr Gilar | Tatra | Firdaus Kabirov Aydar Belyaev Vladimir Goloub | Kamaz |
| 2001 | Karel Loprais Josef Kalina Petr Hamerla | Tatra | Yoshimasa Sugawara Seiichi Suzuki Teruhito Sugawara | Hino | Peter Reif Gunther Pichlbauer Holger Hermann Roth | MAN |
| 2002 | Vladimir Chagin Semen Yakubov Sergey Savostin | Kamaz | Karel Loprais Josef Kalina Petr Hamerla | Tatra | Yoshimasa Sugawara Naoko Matsumoto Seiichi Suzuki | Hino |
| 2003 | Vladimir Chagin Semen Yakubov Sergey Savostin | Kamaz | André de Azevedo Tomáš Tomeček Jaromír Martinec | Tatra | Firdaus Kabirov Aydar Belyaev Ilgizar Mardeev | Kamaz |
| 2004 | Vladimir Chagin Semen Yakubov Sergey Savostin | Kamaz | Firdaus Kabirov Aydar Belyaev Dzhamil Kamalov | Kamaz | Gerard de Rooy Tom Colsoul Arno Slaats | DAF |
| 2005 | Firdaus Kabirov Aydar Belyaev Andrey Mokeev | Kamaz | Yoshimasa Sugawara Katsumi Hamura | Hino | Giacomo Vismara Mario Cambiaghi Claudio Bellina | Mercedes-Benz |
| 2006 | Vladimir Chagin Semen Yakubov Sergey Savostin | Kamaz | Hans Stacey Charly Gotlib Bernard der Kinderen | MAN | Firdaus Kabirov Aydar Belyaev Andrey Mokeev | Kamaz |
| 2007 | Hans Stacey Charly Gotlib Bernard der Kinderen | MAN | Ilgizar Mardeev Aydar Belyaev Eduard Nikolaev | Kamaz | Aleš Loprais Petr Gilar | Tatra |
| 2008 | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled |
| 2009 | Firdaus Kabirov Aydar Belyaev Andrey Mokeev | Kamaz | Vladimir Chagin Sergey Savostin Eduard Nikolaev | Kamaz | Gerard de Rooy Tom Colsoul Marcel van Melis | GINAF |
| 2010 | Vladimir Chagin Sergey Savostin Eduard Nikolaev | Kamaz | Firdaus Kabirov Aydar Belyaev Andrey Mokeev | Kamaz | Marcel van Vliet Herman Vaanholt Gerard van Veenendaal | GINAF |
| 2011 | Vladimir Chagin Sergey Savostin Ildar Shaysultanov | Kamaz | Firdaus Kabirov Aydar Belyaev Andrey Mokeev | Kamaz | Eduard Nikolaev Viatcheslav Mizyukaev Vladimir Rybakov | Kamaz |
| 2012 | Gerard de Rooy Tom Colsoul Dariusz Rodewald | Iveco | Hans Stacey Hans van Goor Bernard der Kinderen | Iveco | Artur Ardavichus Alexey Kuzmich Nurlan Turlubaev | Kamaz |
| 2013 | Eduard Nikolaev Sergey Savostin Vladimir Rybakov | Kamaz | Airat Mardeev Aydar Belyaev Anton Mirniy | Kamaz | Andrey Karginov Andrey Mokeev Igor Devyatkin | Kamaz |
| 2014 | Andrey Karginov Andrey Mokeev Igor Devyatkin | Kamaz | Gerard de Rooy Tom Colsoul Darek Rodewald | Iveco | Eduard Nikolaev Sergey Savostin Vladimir Rybakov | Kamaz |
| 2015 | Airat Mardeev Aydar Belyaev Dmitriy Svistunov | Kamaz | Eduard Nikolaev Evgeny Yakovlev Vladimir Rybakov | Kamaz | Andrey Karginov Andrey Mokeev Igor Leonov | Kamaz |
| 2016 | Gerard de Rooy Moisès Torrallardona Darek Rodewald | Iveco | Airat Mardeev Aydar Belyaev Dmitriy Svistunov | Kamaz | Federico Villagra Jorge Pérez Companc Andrés Memi | Iveco |
| 2017 | Eduard Nikolaev Evgeny Yakovlev Vladimir Rybakov | Kamaz | Dmitry Sotnikov Ruslan Akhmadeev Igor Leonov | Kamaz | Gerard de Rooy Moisès Torrallardona Darek Rodewald | Iveco |
| 2018 | Eduard Nikolaev Evgeny Yakovlev Vladimir Rybakov | Kamaz | Siarhei Viazovich Pavel Haranin Andrei Zhyhulin | MAZ | Airat Mardeev Aydar Belyaev Dmitriy Svistunov | Kamaz |
| 2019 | Eduard Nikolaev Evgeny Yakovlev Vladimir Rybakov | Kamaz | Dmitry Sotnikov Dmitry Nikitin Ilnur Mustafin | Kamaz | Gerard de Rooy Moisès Torrallardona Darek Rodewald | Iveco |
| 2020 | Andrey Karginov Andrey Mokeev Igor Leonov | Kamaz | Anton Shibalov Dmitry Nikitin Ivan Tatarinov | Kamaz | Siarhei Viazovich Pavel Haranin Anton Zaparoshchanka | MAZ |
| 2021 | Dmitry Sotnikov Ruslan Akhamadeev Ilgiz Akhmetzianov | Kamaz | Anton Shibalov Dmitri Nikitin Ivan Tatarinov | Kamaz | Airat Mardeev Dmitry Svistunov Akhmet Galiautdinov | Kamaz |
| 2022 | Dmitry Sotnikov Ruslan Akhamadeev Ilgiz Akhmetzianov | Kamaz | Eduard Nikolaev Evgeny Yakovlev Vladimir Rybakov | Kamaz | Anton Shibalov Dmitri Nikitin Ivan Tatarinov | Kamaz |
| 2023 | Janus van Kasteren Darek Rodewald Marcel Snijders | Iveco | Martin Macík František Tomášek David Švanda | Iveco | Martin van den Brink Erik Kofman Rijk Mouw | Iveco |
| 2024 | Martin Macík František Tomášek David Švanda | Iveco | Aleš Loprais Jaroslav Valtr Jr Jiří Stross | Praga | Mitchel van den Brink Jarno van de Pol Moises Torrallardona | Iveco |
| 2025 | Martin Macík František Tomášek David Švanda | Iveco | Mitchel van den Brink Moises Torrallardona Jarno van de Pol | Iveco | Aleš Loprais David Kripal Darek Rodewald | Iveco |

### Quads

| Year | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd |
| Year | Rider | Quad | Rider | Quad | Rider | Quad |
| 2009 | Josef Macháček | Yamaha | Marcos Patronelli | Can-Am | Rafał Sonik | Yamaha |
| 2010 | Marcos Patronelli | Yamaha | Alejandro Patronelli | Yamaha | Juan Manuel González | Yamaha |
| 2011 | Alejandro Patronelli | Yamaha | Sebastián Halpern | Yamaha | Łukasz Łaskawiec | Yamaha |
| 2012 | Alejandro Patronelli | Yamaha | Marcos Patronelli | Yamaha | Tomas Maffei | Yamaha |
| 2013 | Marcos Patronelli | Yamaha | Ignacio Casale | Yamaha | Rafał Sonik | Yamaha |
| 2014 | Ignacio Casale | Yamaha | Rafał Sonik | Yamaha | Sebastian Husseini | Honda |
| 2015 | Rafał Sonik | Yamaha | Jeremías González | Yamaha | Walter Nosiglia | Honda |
| 2016 | Marcos Patronelli | Yamaha | Alejandro Patronelli | Yamaha | Brian Baragwanath | Yamaha |
| 2017 | Sergey Karyakin | Yamaha | Ignacio Casale | Yamaha | Pablo Copetti | Yamaha |
| 2018 | Ignacio Casale | Yamaha | Nicolás Cavigliasso | Yamaha | Jeremías González | Yamaha |
| 2019 | Nicolás Cavigliasso | Yamaha | Jeremías González | Yamaha | Gustavo Gallego | Yamaha |
| 2020 | Ignacio Casale | Yamaha | Simon Vitse | Yamaha | Rafał Sonik | Yamaha |
| 2021 | Manuel Andújar | Yamaha | Giovanni Enrico | Yamaha | Pablo Copetti | Yamaha |
| 2022 | Alexandre Giroud | Yamaha | Francisco Moreno | Yamaha | Kamil Wiśniewski | Yamaha |
| 2023 | Alexandre Giroud | Yamaha | Francisco Moreno Flores | Yamaha | Pablo Copetti | Yamaha |
| 2024 | Manuel Andújar | Yamaha | Alexandre Giroud | Yamaha | Juraj Varga | Yamaha |

### SSVs (UTVs until 2022)

| Year | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd |
| Year | Crew | UTV | Crew | UTV | Crew | UTV |
| 2017 | Leandro Torres Lourival Roldan | Polaris | Wang Fujiang Li Wei | Polaris | Ravil Maganov Kirill Shubin | Polaris |
| 2018 | Reinaldo Varela Gustavo Gugelmin | Can-Am | Patrice Garrouste Steven Griener | Polaris | Claude Fournier [fr] Szymon Gospodarczyk | Polaris |
| 2019 | Francisco López Contardo Alvaro Quintanilla | Can-Am | Gerard Farrés Daniel Oliveras | Can-Am | Reinaldo Varela Gustavo Gugelmin | Can-Am |
| 2020 | Casey Currie Sean Berriman | Can-Am | Sergey Karyakin Anton Vlasiuk | Can-Am | Francisco López Contardo Juan Pablo Latrach Vinagre | Can-Am |
| 2021 | Francisco Lopez Contardo Juan Pablo Latrach Vinagre | Can-Am | Austin Jones Gustavo Gugelmin | Can-Am | Aron Domżała Maciej Marton | Can-Am |
| 2022 | Austin Jones Gustavo Gugelmin | Can-Am | Gerard Farrés Diego Ortega Gil | Can-Am | Rokas Baciuška Oriol Mena | Can-Am |
| 2023 | Eryk Goczał Oriol Mena | Can-Am | Rokas Baciuška Oriol Vidal Montijano | Can-Am | Marek Goczał Maciej Marton | Can-Am |
| 2024 | Xavier de Soultrait Martin Bonnet | Polaris | Jérôme de Sadeleer Michaël Metge | Can-Am | Yasir Seaidan Adrien Metge | Can-Am |
| 2025 | Brock Heger Max Eddy | Polaris | Francisco López Contardo Juan Pablo Latrach Vinagre | Can-Am | Alexandre Pinto Bernardo Oliveira | Can-Am |

### Light Prototypes (Challenger/T3)

| Year | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd |
| Year | Crew | Make | Crew | Make | Crew | Make |
| 2021 | Josef Macháček Pavel Vyoral | Can-Am | Camelia Liparoti Annett Fischer | Yamaha | Philippe Pinchedez Vincent Ferri | Pinch Racing |
| 2022 | Francisco Lopez Contardo Juan Pablo Latrach Vinagre | Can-Am | Sebastian Eriksson Wouter Rosegaar | Can-Am | Cristina Gutiérrez Francois Cazalet | OT3 |
| 2023 | Austin Jones Gustavo Gugelmin | Can-Am | Seth Quintero Dennis Zenz | Can-Am | Guillaume De Mévius François Cazalet | OT3 |
| 2024 | Cristina Gutiérrez Pablo Moreno Huete | Taurus | Mitch Guthrie Kellon Walch | Taurus | Rokas Baciuška Oriol Vidal Montijano | Can-Am |
| 2025 | Nicolas Cavigliasso Valentina Pertegarini | Taurus | Gonçalo Guerreiro Cadu Sachs | Taurus | Pau Navarro Lisandro Sisterna | Taurus |

### Classics

| Year | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd |
| Year | Crew | Make | Crew | Make | Crew | Make |
| 2021 | Marc Douton Emilien Etienne | Sunhill Buggy | Juan Donatiu Pere Serrat Puig | Mitsubishi Montero | Lilian Harichoury Luc Fertin Laurent Correia | Renault Trucks |
| 2022 | Serge Mogno Florent Drulhon | Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80 | Arnaud Euvrard Adeline Euvrard | Mercedes ML | Jesus Fuster Pliego Juan Carlos Ramirez Moure | Mercedes G-320 |
| 2023 | Juan Morera Lidia Ruba | Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80 | Carlos Santaolalla Aran Sol I Juanola | Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80 | Paolo Bedeschi Daniele Bottallo | Toyota Land Cruiser BJ71 |
| 2024 | Carlos Santaolalla Aran Sol I Juanola | Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80 | Lorenzo Traglio Rudy Briani | Nissan Pathfinder | Paolo Bedeschi Daniele Bottallo | Toyota Land Cruiser BJ71 |
| 2025 | Carlos Santaolalla Aran Sol I Juanola | Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80 | Lorenzo Traglio Rudy Briani | Nissan Terrano Pick-Up | Karolis Raisys Ignas Daunoravicius | Land-Rover Series III |

## Television coverage

The rally is broadcast on television in more than 190 countries. A live feed of the event and a roundup of each day's race progress is made into a 26-minute programme. This has been commentated on by Toby Moody for ten years, and more recently by Neil Cole.
The rally organizers and their television crews provide 20 edit stations along the route for various countries to produce their own programmes about the rally. There are four TV helicopters, six stage cameras, and three bivouac crews to make over 1,000 hours of TV over the two-week period.
A 2006 television documentary Race to Dakar described the experiences of a team, including the English actor Charley Boorman, in preparation for and entry into the 2006 Dakar Rally.

### Broadcasters

List of TV broadcasters as of 2022 :
| Region | Country | TV Network |
| Western Europe | France | Franceinfo |
| Western Europe | France | France 2 / France 3 / France 4 |
| Western Europe | Spain | La 1 |
| Western Europe | Spain | Teledeporte |
| Western Europe | Spain | TV3 |
| Western Europe | Spain | Esport3 |
| Western Europe | Netherlands | RTL 4 |
| Western Europe | Netherlands | RTL 7 |
| Western Europe | Belgium | VTM |
| Western Europe | | RTBF |
| Western Europe | Austria | ORF Sport + |
| Western Europe | Austria | ServusTV |
| Western Europe | Italy | Sport Mediaset [it] it:Sport Mediaset |
| Western Europe | Italy | RAI |
| Western Europe | Italy | Sky Sport 24 |
| Western Europe | Italy | Italia 1 |
| Western Europe | Germany | ZDF |
| Eastern Europe | Estonia | TV6 |
| Eastern Europe | Poland | Polsat |
| Eastern Europe | Poland | TVP1 / TVP2 / TVN |
| Eastern Europe | Czech Republic | Nova |
| Eastern Europe | Czech Republic | Prima |
| Eastern Europe | Czech Republic | Czech TV |
| Eastern Europe | Lithuania | LNK |
| Eastern Europe | Slovakia | RTVS |
| Europe | Pan-Europe | Eurosport |
| Middle East | Middle East | BeIN Sports |
| Middle East | Saudi Arabia | SSC sport |
| Latin America | Pan-Latin America | ESPN |
| Americas | USA | MavTV |
| Americas | Canada | FloSports |
| Americas | Argentina | Canal 12 (Cordoba) |
| Americas | Argentina | America TV |
| Americas | Argentina | TPA |
| Americas | Argentina | C5N |
| Americas | Argentina | El Trece |
| Americas | Argentina | Telefe |
| Americas | Brazil | ESPN |
| Americas | Colombia | Caracol TV |
| Americas | Mexico | Fox Sports |
| Asia and Oceania | Asia and Oceania | Eurosport Asia |
| Asia and Oceania | Australia | SBS |
| Asia and Oceania | New Zealand | Sky Sport |
| Asia and Oceania | China | Zhibo.tv |
| Asia and Oceania | Japan | J Sports |
| Asia and Oceania | India | 1Sports |
| Africa | South Africa | SABC |
| Africa | South Africa | eNCA |
| Africa | Africa | Supersoft |
| World | World | Red Bull TV |
| World | World | Motor Trend |
| World | World | Motorsport.com |
| World | World | France 24 |
| World | World | Canal 24 Horas |
| World | World | Al Jazeera |

## Video games

| Release date | Title | Genre | Platform | Developer | Publisher |
| 1988 | Paris-Dakar Rally Special | Rally | Famicom | ISCO | CBS/Sony Group |
| 1997 | Dakar '97 | Rally | PlayStation (console) | Elcom Co., Ltd. | Virgin Interactive Entertainment (Japan), Inc. |
| 2001 | Paris-Dakar Rally | Rally | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 | Broadsword Interactive | Acclaim Entertainment |
| 2003 | Dakar 2: The World's Ultimate Rally | Rally | PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube | Acclaim Studios Cheltenham | Acclaim Entertainment |
| 2018 | Dakar 18 | Rally | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One | Bigmoon Entertainment | Deep Silver |
| 2022 | Dakar Desert Rally | Rally | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | Saber Interactive | Saber Interactive |

## Incidents

In 1982, Mark Thatcher, son of the then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, along with his French co-driver Anny-Charlotte Verney and their mechanic, disappeared for six days. On 9 January, the trio became separated from a convoy of vehicles after they stopped to make repairs to a faulty steering arm. They were declared missing on 12 January. After a large-scale search was instigated, an Algerian military Lockheed L-100 (a version of the C-130 Hercules) search plane spotted their white Peugeot 504 some 50 kilometres (31 mi) off course. Thatcher, Verney, and the mechanic were all unharmed.
The organiser of the rally, Thierry Sabine, was killed when his Ecureuil helicopter ("Squirrel-copter") crashed at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday 14 January 1986, into a dune at Mali during a sudden sand-storm. Also killed onboard was the singer-songwriter Daniel Balavoine, helicopter pilot François-Xavier Bagnoud, journalist Nathalie Odent, and Jean-Paul Lefur who was a radiophonic engineer for French radio broadcaster RTL (formerly Radio Luxembourg).
Six people were killed during the 1988 race, three participants and three local residents. In one incident, Baye Sibi, a 10-year-old Malian girl, was killed by a racer while she crossed a road. A film crew's vehicle killed a mother and daughter in Mauritania on the last day of the race. The race participants killed, in three separate crashes, were a Dutch navigator on the DAF Trucks team, a French privateer, and a French rider. Racers were also blamed for starting a wildfire that caused a panic on a train running between Dakar and Bamako, where three more people were killed.
In 2003, French driver Daniel Nebot both rolled and crashed his Toyota heavily at high speed killing his co-driver Bruno Cauvy.
In 2005, Spanish motorcyclist José Manuel Pérez died in a Spanish hospital on Monday 10 January after crashing the week before on the 7th stage. Italian motorcyclist Fabrizio Meoni, a two-time winner of the event, became the second Dakar Rally rider to die in two days, following Pérez on 11 January on stage 11. Meoni was the 11th motorcyclist and the 45th person overall to die in the history of the race. On 13 January a five-year-old Senegalese girl was hit and killed by a service lorry after wandering onto a main road, bringing the total deaths to five.
In 2006, 41-year-old Australian KTM motorcyclist Andy Caldecott, in his third time in the Dakar, died on 9 January as a result of neck injuries sustained in a crash approximately 250 kilometres (160 mi) into stage 9, between Nouakchott and Kiffa, only a few kilometers (miles) from the location where Meoni had his fatal wreck the year before. He won the third stage of the 2006 event between Nador and Er Rachidia only a few days before his death. The death occurred despite efforts by the event organisers to improve competitor safety, including limiting speed, mandatory rest at fuel stops, and reduced fuel tank capacity for the bike classes. On 13 January a 10-year-old boy died while crossing the course after being hit by a car driven by Latvian Māris Saukāns, while on 14 January a 12-year-old boy was killed after being hit by a support lorry.
In 2007, 29-year-old South African motor racer Elmer Symons died of injuries sustained in a crash during the fourth stage of the Rally. Symons crashed with his bike in the desert between Er Rachidia and Ouarzazate, Morocco. Another death occurred on 20 January, the night before the race's finish, when 42-year-old motorcyclist Eric Aubijoux died suddenly. The cause of death was initially believed to be a heart attack, but it was later suggested that Aubijoux had died of internal injuries sustained in a crash earlier that day while competing in the 14th stage of the race.
The 2008 Dakar Rally was cancelled due to security concerns after al-Qaeda's murder of four French tourists on Christmas Eve in December 2007 in Mauritania (a country in which the rally spent eight days), various accusations against the rally calling it "neo-colonialist", and al-Qaeda's accusations against Mauritania calling it a supporter of "crusaders, apostates and infidels". The French-based Amaury Sport Organisation in charge of the 6,000-kilometre (3,700 mi) rally said in a statement that they had been advised by the French government to cancel the race, which had been due to begin on 5 January 2008 from Lisbon. They said direct threats had also been made against the event by al-Qaeda related organisations.
Omar Osama bin Laden, the son of Osama bin Laden, attracted news coverage in 2008 by promoting himself as an "ambassador of peace" and proposing a 3,000-mile (4,800 km) horse race across North Africa as a replacement to the Dakar Rally, with sponsors' money going to support child victims of war, saying "I heard the rally was stopped because of al-Qaida. I don't think they are going to stop me."
On 7 January 2009, the body of 49-year-old motorcyclist Pascal Terry from France was found. He had been missing for three days and his body lay on a remote part of the second stage between Santa Rosa de la Pampa and Puerto Madryn.
On 4 January 2010, a woman watching the Dakar Rally was killed when a vehicle taking part in the race veered off the course and hit her during the opening stage.
On 1 January 2012, motorcyclist Jorge Martinez Boero of Argentina died after suffering a cardiac arrest after a fall. He was treated by medical staff within five minutes of the accident, but died on the way to hospital.
On 7 January 2015, motorcycle rider Michal Hernik died in unknown circumstances during Stage 3 of the 2015 rally.
On 12 January 2020, Portuguese motorcycle rider Paulo Gonçalves died after suffering a heart attack due to a crash on the seventh stage.
On 15 January 2021, motorcyclist Pierre Cherpin of France died. The 52-year-old Frenchman fell off his motorcycle on 10 January, and a rescue team in a helicopter found him unconscious in the desert. He was rushed to a hospital in Saudi Arabia where he was treated for his injuries. He sustained serious head injuries and cracked ribs, and one of his lungs also collapsed. Cherpin underwent emergency neurosurgery and was placed in an artificial coma. Doctors were initially optimistic about his recovery path and there were no complications after the surgery. He died during the medical transfer from Jeddah to France.
Overall, 76 people, including 31 competitors, have died in the Dakar Rally.

## Criticism

When the race was held in Africa, it was subject to criticism from several sources, generally focusing on the race's impact on the inhabitants of the African countries through which it passed. Some African residents along the race's course in previous years have said they saw limited benefits from the race; that race participants spent little money on the goods and services local residents can offer. The racers produced substantial amounts of dust along the course, and were blamed for hitting and killing livestock, in addition to occasionally injuring or killing people.
After the 1988 race, when three Africans were killed in collisions with vehicles involved in the race, PANA, a Dakar-based news agency, wrote that the deaths were "insignificant for the [race's] organisers". The Vatican City newspaper L'Osservatore Romano called the race a "vulgar display of power and wealth in places where men continue to die from hunger and thirst." During a 2002 protest at the race's start in Arras, France, a Green Party of France statement described the race as "colonialism that needs to be eradicated".
The rally was criticised before 2000 for crossing through the disputed territory of Western Sahara, which has been occupied by Morocco since 1975, without the approval of the Polisario Front independence movement, which considers itself the representative of the indigenous Sahrawi people. After the race officials gained formal permission from the Polisario from 2000 onwards this ceased to be an issue.
The environmental impact of the race has been another area of criticism. This criticism of the race is the topic of the song "500 connards sur la ligne de départ" ("500 Arseholes at the Starting Line"), on the 1991 album Marchand de cailloux by French singer Renaud. In 2014, the Dakar rally was criticized for damage done to archaeological sites in Chile.
The move to Saudi Arabia for the 2020 Dakar Rally was under heavy criticism because of the situation of human rights in Saudi Arabia and the position of women in that country.
Despite the criticism from human rights organizations against the choice of host country for the 2020 season, the Dakar Rally was organized in Saudi Arabia for another consecutive year. While it was being denounced as an attempt of sportswashing by Saudi Arabia, the organizers defended the decision.